This one is obviously important as to whether I can in fact do as I please, or whether my actions are already decided for me as part of some biochemical event.

We often hear positions of those who believe in God, you know the free will vs predetermination.
What say some lay people without belief in God though, I'd be interested?

I think we have free will within a deterministic framework. We all have the freedom to make our own choices, but lots of factors - age, gender, education, life experience, religious beliefs, up-bringing, government intervention, wealth or lack thereof, knowledge, and a hundred other things - act as limiting factors and/or push us in one direction or another. So yeah, we have free will to do what's possible within whatever boxes where we find ourselves.

This one is obviously important as to whether I can in fact do as I please, or whether my actions are already decided for me as part of some biochemical event.

We often hear positions of those who believe in God, you know the free will vs predetermination.
What say some lay people without belief in God though, I'd be interested?

I think we have free will within a deterministic framework. We all have the freedom to make our own choices, but lots of factors - age, gender, education, life experience, religious beliefs, up-bringing, government intervention, wealth or lack thereof, knowledge, and a hundred other things - act as limiting factors and/or push us in one direction or another. So yeah, we have free will to do what's possible within whatever boxes where we find ourselves.

It is intuitive that we have free will, but I wonder how it is "we" could possibly emerge in a real sense above a mechanical process to then control it? E.g., if fire is the physical process, and smoke the conscious self that emerges, how is it the smoke can usurp control of the fire to act?

Such is understood as a serious epiphenomenal problem within a materialistic or physicalist framework.

"Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13)

Kenny wrote:
I believe for the most part; each person determines his actions

But, how is that possible?

Free will

Of course!

Humm.... This turned out to be a lot easier than I thought.

There is no defeating you Kenny.

What self-proclaimed skeptics don't really seem to understand, is a healthy skepticism also involves being skeptic of one's skepticism. That's all I'll say. If you want to knock my questions up to "making some point" then so be it.

"Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13)

What self-proclaimed skeptics don't really seem to understand, is a healthy skepticism also involves being skeptic of one's skepticism. That's all I'll say. If you want to knock my questions up to "making some point" then so be it.

With economics, just as Capitalist aren't pure capitalist, Communist aren't pure Communist, when it comes to what we believe; skeptics aren't pure skeptics; if they were they would never get anything done

Ken

RickD wrote
"What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence".

What self-proclaimed skeptics don't really seem to understand, is a healthy skepticism also involves being skeptic of one's skepticism. That's all I'll say. If you want to knock my questions up to "making some point" then so be it.

With economics, just as Capitalist aren't pure capitalist, Communist aren't pure Communist, when it comes to what we believe; skeptics aren't pure skeptics; if they were they would never get anything done

Ken

Certainly can't argue with that logic.

John 5:2424 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

Kenny wrote:"You don’t need faith, logic, reason, proof, or anything else to be atheist, all you need to do is reject what someone told you."

What self-proclaimed skeptics don't really seem to understand, is a healthy skepticism also involves being skeptic of one's skepticism. That's all I'll say. If you want to knock my questions up to "making some point" then so be it.